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‘AI clog’: UK public bodies battle onslaught of chatbot-generated complaints

“It started as a trickle in 2024 and now it’s an onslaught.” Hollie Wickens, a senior caseworker in a Labour MP’s office, is explaining the daily reality of dealing with surging volumes of artificial intelligence-generated correspondence. “Half the emails we receive are some form of AI,” she says, adding that this has made requests and complaints much more complex and time-consuming to read and deal with, despite her decade of experience in the role. “It is definitely more taxing.” At the start of this decade, a…

Truvace record2 min read1 sourceEvidence: Emerging · 42/100 — News report · 1 independent sourceJournalismTRV-2026-2428 · cite or check it
‘AI clog’: UK public bodies battle onslaught of chatbot-generated complaints

In brief

UK councils, MPs' offices, Transport for London and employers say a flood of chatbot-written complaints, letters and appeals is raising their workload. Lawyers in Local Government says complaints once averaged about two pages and the majority are now 10 times longer, with one running about 200 pages.

The pressure falls on bodies with fixed budgets. Deborah Evans of Lawyers in Local Government, which represents 5,600 lawyers, said councils get no extra money for more complaints. Enfield council's leader reported a significant uptick in parking appeals. One MP's office decided to stop answering automated 'click to email your MP' campaigns.

The accounts come from officials, unions and employer advisers rather than a systematic count. Some staff say the messages cite irrelevant or invented case law, and the Information Commissioner's Office says AI-drafted requests with inaccuracies still need human answers.

Main points

  1. Hollie Wickens, a caseworker in a Labour MP's office, said half the emails the office receives are some form of AI.
  2. The Information Commissioner's Office said AI-generated information requests can be very long, repetitive and contain unrelated comments or misdirected demands.
  3. Transport for London received a record 4,769 freedom of information requests in 2025-26, up 5% on the 2023-24 peak, and reported a noted increase in appeals that appeared AI-generated.
  4. Employment tribunal claims opened between April and June rose 28% year on year to 14,000 single-claimant cases, leaving 70,000 open single claims at the end of June.
  5. The GMB union's MPs' and peers' staff branch said casework has doubled or more in offices that keep their own figures.
  6. Employer adviser Jim Moore said many AI-written complaints exaggerate minor incidents and omit what resolution the complainant wants.

The problem

UK local authorities, MPs' offices and employers say chatbot-written complaints, requests and appeals now run about 10 times longer than before, with MPs' staff reporting casework that has doubled or more.

The full story

Hollie Wickens, a senior caseworker with a decade in the job, said the flow of AI-generated emails began as a trickle in 2024. She said it has made requests and complaints more complex and time-consuming to read. Vonnie Sandlan, head of office for MP Graeme Downie, said her staff are exhausted and working more hours than they are paid.

Evans said AI tools often treat complaints as legal claims, citing statute and case law that may come from another country, and sometimes make things up. A tech start-up founder facing an employment tribunal challenge said the complaint's wording and tone looked AI-generated and expected £30,000 in legal fees.

The article ties the tribunal figures and TfL's request numbers to a wider rise in demand but does not show that AI caused them. It also notes that AI is credited with some of this year's better than expected UK GDP growth, and that chatbots help people who struggle to draft correspondence.

Sources

  1. JournalismThe Guardian2026-11-08

The debate